NYPL Releases Over 180,000 Public Domain Images

The New York Public Library announced via press release late last week it has released a treasure trove of over 180,000 high resolution public domain images.

“Did you know that more than 180,000 of the items in our Digital Collections are in the public domain? That means everyone has the freedom to enjoy and reuse these materials in almost limitless ways. The Library now makes it possible to download such items in the highest resolution available directly from the Digital Collections website. No permission required. No restrictions on use.”

The collection includes a wide range of materials including maps, the manuscripts of literary masters (including Walt Whitman), correspondence of historic political figures and iconic turn of the century and WPA era photography. There’s even Medieval and Renaissance illuminated manuscripts. A quick search of the archive for “Brooklyn Heights” resulted in a return of just over 100 images.

The Library also announced a new Remix Residency program designed for “artists, information designers, software developers, data scientists, journalists, digital researchers, and others to make transformative and creative uses of digital collections and data.” The program awards two individuals a $2,000 stipend. Applications will be accepted through Friday, February 19, 2016.

I’ve downloaded many of those images over the years. The photos from the NYPL Digital Library are the ones I’ve posted here. This just makes it so much easier to see them, and I advise everyone to dip into the collection.

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